January 2002 issue

His Majesty King Abdullah II urged Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) commissioners to step up work on the economic and tourist projects slated for the Aqaba region. At the meeting, which marked the first anniversary of the launching of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, the King pointed out that quick and practical steps should be taken to accommodate investors from Jordan and abroad. The Aqaba region is expected to see €675 million worth of investments coming in over the next five years. 751 investment companies were already registered to launch projects.

Mr. Hans Spitzner, Bavarian Vice Minister of Economy, Traffic and Technology will head a business delegation to Jordan between 10 – 13 April 2002. The delegation will participate in German Jordan Business forum to be held in Aqaba and meet a number of Jordanian officials and business members.

Jordan Investment Board plan for the year 2002 will offer incentives for investments worth of JD990 million (1571,5 million €) out of which JD740 million (1174,6 million €) new investments. Fresh capital will be channelled to investments in promising sectors, namely, tourism, Dead Sea industries, clothes, textiles mining and pharmaceuticals.

Located south of the kingdom, close to the Dead Sea, Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II Industrial Estate (HUIE) is Jordan Industrial Estate Corporation’s newest project. The Zone (total area 185.6 ha) possesses a complete network and services infrastructure. All investments in HUIE will receive generous and attractive incentives and tax exemptions. The US Government has approved HUIE as a Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ). Investors in QIZ enjoy an unprecedented opportunity to gain duty free and quota free access to the US market. Currently, there are promising opportunities in HUIE in the fields of apparels, Garment, cotton and weaving.

Export Promotion and Commercial Centers Corporation (JEDCO) estimated the value of national exports for the past year of about JD1,275 Billion compared to JD599 million for  the year 1991, confirming that national exports have taken a good  leap forward in the past ten years at a percentage increase of 113%.  Number of export markets increased to 131 for the year 2001 from 67 in the year 1991.  Jordan exports to Arab countries increased by 37% in 2001 compared to 29% in 1991 and its exports to countries of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) increased from 1% in 1991 to 12% in 2001. Row materials and intermediate commodities made up 65% of the exports in the year 1991, while consumer and capital goods made 33% and 2% respectively of the total exports in the same year.

The Amman Stock Exchange recorded its best performance in 2001 since 1994. The volume of exchanges on the market increased by 100 percent in 2001, while listed stock prices climbed by nearly 300 percent compared with the previous year. The value of exchanges on the Amman Securities Market hit a peak record of more than JD1 billion (€1,58 billion) in 2001.

Amman has been declared as the Arab Cultural Capital for the year 2002. A high number of cultural events and activities will take place in Amman during this year, aiming at shedding light on the cultural heritage of Jordan. For more information: www.ammancultural2002.net/.

United Nations Information, Communication Technology Task Force held its first meeting in Amman between 13-14 January 2002, part of a mission intended to ensure global participation in efforts for bridging the digital divide. The aim of the meeting is to launch and develop the ICT policy and strategy with multi stakeholder participation for the UN’s ICT network in the Arab world. In accordance with the decision made by the international team to establish regional centres in different areas of the world, Jordan was chosen as the regional centre for the Arab region.

A workshop on development of Customs Department has been held at the Dead Sea, funded by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Experts discussed development projects, in particular, clearance of goods and imports and easing of customs procedures. The development program will continue until year 2004.

Aiming to boost trade, Jordan and Kuwait recently signed a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) exempting agriculture, livestock and industrial goods locally produced from customs tariffs. Other traded commodities are scheduled to enjoy zero levels by the year 2005.

Dr. Mohammed Halayqeh, Deputy Prime Minister stated that JD 300 million (€476) economic and social development plan will be launched by the government in January 2002. The main objectives of the plan are to raise the quality of the government’s services and to improve the local infrastructure system as well as to execute development projects throughout the Kingdom.

The 18th session of the General Assembly and the 36th session of the Executive Committee of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be held in Amman in mid January, with the participation of representatives from 56 Islamic countries. Mr. Othman Bdeir, Chairman of Amman Chamber of Industry, said these meetings are the base to revive economic cooperation among Islamic countries and tackle obstacles facing the promotion of trade exchange and investments.  He pointed out that these meetings are important to Jordan, which is about to launch an international campaign to promote its economic accomplishments that were achieved in a short time such as the FTA with the US and other countries and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone.

The Consular Section of the Embassy announces that with the introduction of the single European currency, the consular fees will only be accepted in Euro as of 1^st January 2002. Fees for Single visa Entry will be € 16,5 while multiple Entry € 31,5. The Legalization fee for commercial documents will be € 84.